MENEZES Joao

General
TIME IN SPAIN
In 2017 he relocated to Barcelona, Spain, to train at the 4Slam Tennis Academy under Spanish coaches Galo Blanco and Fernando Vicente, before returning to Brazil in late 2018. "The academy was very good, I experienced a big improvement in my game. But I finished exhausted due to a lack of familiar support, friends and a closer contact with the coach. I felt alone. Doing that for some months is good, but staying almost two years in this situation became unbearable. That influences the game, if you are not feeling good outside the court, it will be reflected on results. In Brazil I will be closer to home, my acquaintances and with coaches that were part of my development as a tennis player." (revistatenis.uol.com.br, 01 Jul 2019, 01 Jan 2019; saqueevoleio.blogosfera.uol.com.br, 04 Oct 2019; terra.com.br, 03 Aug 2019)

RETIREMENT THOUGHTS
He considered retiring from the sport in 2017 after sustaining multiple injuries, including three left knee surgeries in as many years. His father then contacted Rafael Kuerten [brother of Brazilian tennis player Gustavo Kuerten] and arranged a one-week training camp in Barcelona, Spain. "My father did this whole process in secret, bought me and him tickets, booked a week of training at the gym and was trying to convince me. It got to the point where he said, 'I have never asked you for anything in life. This time we both go there for a week. If you train for one or two days and don't like it, then we stay there for the rest of the week as a holiday, and return home'. I went there and trained for the whole week. I trained alongside [Russian tennis player Andrey] Rublev everyday and at the end of the week he beat me after a massive tie-break. My father and coaches said I could play, so I decided to stay." (revistatenis.uol.com.br, 01 Jul 2019, 01 Jan 2019; saqueevoleio.blogosfera.uol.com.br, 04 Oct 2019; terra.com.br, 03 Aug 2019)